Fritze’s Back

I like Rome—a lot. The photo captures the front of the city’s famous Pantheon. Sometimes I look to Rome and its history for inspiration or support. For the last year, I’ve been leaning on the adage “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” actually a medieval French phrase, to explain the slow emergence of my third mystery novel, Crook’s Hill.

The storyline: insider trading, unexplained deaths and a horrific, long-buried crime envelop highly successful but fractious brothers. Seemed relatively straightforward when I created the first outline. But the six outlines, five chronologies and twelve or so drafts tell a different tale.

Still, I enjoyed almost every moment of writing Crook’s Hill. The truth is that the characters, especially the female characters, needed time and work to reach their potential. And when they did, the plot weaved in surprising directions. I went with the flow and am proud of the result. And I realized I have a male and female protagonist for a series.

The payoff? Lots of positive feedback from beta readers, and a very strong Kirkus review, which I’ll release once I know how Crook’s Hill will be published. I’ve been strongly encouraged to seek an agent, and I’ve sent about thirty queries. Let’s just say it’s like being one of a thousand anglers dangling hooks in a pond with one fish: no bites. Soon, I’ll submit Crook’s Hill directly to publishers interested in high quality mysteries. Likely, though, I’ll self-publish in early November. I’m gearing up for that now.

So, thanks for your patience. I hope you’ll like Crook’s Hill and maybe I’ll see you at the mystery convention, Bouchercon, in Toronto, October 11-14.